Survey: the pressure is on IT to deliver digital transformation

More than nine in 10 executives, 91 percent, believe their organizations' revenues will take a hit if they don't see digital transformation through successfully. So they are turning to their IT managers to deliver results. 

That's the word from MuleSoft, which released a survey of 650 IT executives that finds while everyone has digital transformation initiatives, 84 percent say integration challenges are hanging them up. Close to half of all respondents (43 percent) reported more than 1,000 applications are being used across their business, but only 29 percent are currently integrated together, trapping valuable data in silos. 

IT to the rescue? The survey's authors suggest IT is taking on a more expansive, more visible role in seeing digital transformation through. "The role of IT is changing from a tactical function to a business catalyst," the survey's authors point out. With greater power comes greater responsibility, of course. The number of projects IT is expected to deliver also is on the rise. 

As usual, businesses are leaning on IT people to oversee the entire disruption and rebuilding of their brands -- but without appreciable budget increases. The majority (69 percent) of IT's time remains dedicated to keeping the lights on compared to innovation. At the same time, 77 percent of respondents saw a budget increase of less than 10 percent this year. In fact, nearly one third (31 percent) of these respondents reported that budgets had either remained flat or decreased. 

APIs are a vital part of digital transformation, and 91 percent of respondents from organizations that own public or private APIs are experiencing significant business outcomes as a result, including greater productivity (53 percent), decreased operational costs (33 percent), and increased revenue growth (29 percent). For 36 percent of respondents, APIs are generating more than 25 percent of their organization's revenue.

Respondents who always reuse software assets when developing new projects were more likely than their peers who own APIs to report increased productivity (63 percent versus 53 percent) and revenue growth (41 percent versus 29 percent).